Chapter 125: Chapter 125

When he heard the news, Michael was in his office, having arrived early in the morning to prepare for several meetings scheduled for that day.

Since Grady had taken a few days off for urgent personal reasons, Michael decided to handle things himself. After all, he trusted no one but Grady to handle sensitive documents and arrange his schedule.

It was Will who called him and informed him of what happened.

“Mike,” he said on the other end of the line, and nothing else.

Michael couldn’t quite describe the tone of his older brother’s voice. It was a mixture of panic and calm, as if Will was caught between these two overwhelming emotions. As if he was about to collapse but was holding himself back and calming down.

“What is it?” Michael asked, wanting his brother to get straight to the point. Something had happened, and he was determined to know what it was.

“…It’s Joanna,” Will breathed out. “She got in an accident.”

It felt as if time had stopped.

Michael didn’t know how long he stood there, just processing the words in his head, until Will’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Mike! Did you hear what I just said?” he said in a louder, shaky voice. “She’s here at the hospital in Jacksonville. She’s in critical condition. You need to come right away. Mom and Dad are—”

Maybe it was the mention of his parents, or maybe it was because he still couldn’t process the gravity of the situation, but Michael said reflexively, without thinking, “I’ll just finish these documents, and then I’ll be right there.”

There was a moment of shocked silence. He could tell that Will was stunned by his words.

Michael was surprised as well. He had not intended it to come out that way. Maybe it was just a habit from the last few days with Grady’s absence.

But the words had slipped out, and it was too late to take them back.

Before Michael could explain, an enraged voice suddenly shouted, “You unfeeling son! What the hell are you talking about?! Come over here right now!”

It was his father’s voice.

Michael gripped the phone in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

“Dad, please stop—” Will’s voice said.

“Are you not the least bit concerned about your sister? Come here right now!” his father scolded angrily. “Leave your work alone for once in your life and put your family first!”

Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly. Although he wanted to go to his sister right away, the thought of his parents being there made him hesitate.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ a voice inside him scolded. ‘Why aren’t you going to see her? Why are you stalling?!’

Michael closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

Right. Why was he hesitating?

He and Joanna had somehow made up that day. They had expressed wanting to change things.

He didn’t really hate her. He didn’t despise her to the core. It wasn’t anything like that at all.

She was his sister. She wanted to give their sibling relationship a try, and so did he.

Michael turned off his computer and started to leave the office, making a few phone calls on the way.

The documents and the company could wait. In the end, his family came first, no matter what.

***

When he finally arrived at the hospital, his sister was still undergoing surgery.

Smack!

The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain on his cheek.

Michael lifted his head to see his father standing before him, looking more furious than he had ever been in his entire life.

“You ungrateful son! How did you become like this?!” he shouted. “I know that you and your sister don’t get along, but even when she’s in a situation like this, you still don’t care? What the hell happened to you?!”

“Dad!” Will shouted, holding John McGregor back. He gave Michael a pained look. “He’s here now, okay? Mike is here. Don’t get mad. We should all be worried about Joanna right now.”

Diana, on the other hand, never stopped crying. She mumbled her daughter’s name over and over like a mantra, like a prayer.

They were in the VIP corridor of the hospital, so there were no people around. It was soundproof and heavily guarded from the outside, so obviously, no paparazzi or journalists were allowed inside.

John McGregor’s face was red with rage. He looked as if he was torn between being concerned and continuing to be angry.

“How can you be so callous? Do you feel nothing at all?!” he demanded, ignoring the words of his eldest son.

Michael looked at him with indifference.

Whenever his father used that tone with him or had that expression on his face, Michael would reflexively feign indifference, as he always did.

It was just a habit, but it was hard to feel completely sad in this kind of situation, especially when his father was so angry with him.

Michael just felt that it was better to act calm than to do anything else.

“I am worried,” he replied. His cheek still throbbed a little from the slap, and he pushed down the urge to feel a wave of resentment. It wasn’t the time for that right now. “Of course I am. I’m not a robot without any emotions. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

He knew that his father was angry, which was why he had done it. But it was humiliating, disrespectful, and immature for him to do such a thing to his own son. His son who was an adult now, not a little kid.

What made it worse was that only Will tried to stop it, and their own mother just didn’t seem to care and kept on crying.

Maybe Michael was selfishly thinking about all of this, but he couldn’t help those kinds of thoughts.

This day was really turning out to be one of the worst in his entire life.

Just… why?

Why was this happening, and why did Joanna have to be a part of it?

Just when he thought that he could finally make amends with his older sister…

Was there really no hope after all?

‘Or maybe this is just my punishment,’ Michael thought dully.

John McGregor looked disgusted before turning around and making some phone calls. He did not even bother to give a response to his youngest son.

“I want you to investigate the accident and see if there’s been any foul play. Right now!” he ordered someone on the other end of the line.